- 



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



ARTESIAN WELLS 



I Tn.\ I II I 



GREAT PLAINS; 



THE REPORT OK A GEOLOGICAL COMMISSION APPOINTED TO 

EXAMINE A PORTION OF THE GREAT PLAINS EAST OF 

TUP ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND REPORT UPON THE 

LOCALITIES DEEMED MOST FAVORABLE FOR 

MAKING EXPERIMENTAL BORINGS. 



VTA 8HIXGTOX: 

GOV E R N M E N T P R I N T IMr F F I C E 
IS 82. 



I J-. 



1 






^DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE^fttf*-^ 



ARTESIAN WELLS 



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ITiiX THE 



GREAT PLAINS; 



BKING 



THE REPORT OF A GEOLOGICAL COMMISSION APPOINTED TO 

EXAMINE A PORTION OF THE GREAT PLAINS EAST OF 

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND REPORT UPON THE 

LOCALITIES DEEMED MOST FAVORABLE FOR 

MAKING EXPERIMENTAL BORINGS. 

/■" 



WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

18&2. 



5150 



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^ 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL, 



Hon. George B. LorinG, 

Commissioner of Agriculture : 

Sir : Having been appointed by yon a commission to make scientific 
examination of certain arid lands of the United States east of the Rocky 
Mountains, for the purpose of indicating suitable localities for boring 
experimental artesian wells, we have the honor to present the accom- 
panying report of the results of our examinations during the season of 
1881. 

The region within which we were expected to operate, as indicated by 
your general instructions, is a very large one, the area and boundaries 
of which we understood to be as follows : All that area which lies be- 
tween the meridian of 102° on the east and the base of the Rocky 
Mountains on the west, and between the northern boundary of the 
United States on the north and the southern boundary of the same on 
the south. , 

The season was so far advanced before we were able to begin our 
labors in the field that the necessity for confining them during the 
comparatively short time that field work would be practicable to a 
limited portion of the great area above indicated became at once ap- 
parent. Accordingly we selected that portion of Colorado which lies 
east of the Rocky Mountains as the field of our labors for the short sea- 
son that remained, and received your approval of the same. Under 
ordinary circumstances it would have been impracticable for us to make 
such an examination of this large district within a time so limited as 
would warrant a conclusive report upon the subject required. But 
owing to the fact that both of us had, on former occasions, examined 
large portions of this district in such a manner as to make the results 
available for the purpose of this commission, we have been able to arrive 
at conclusions that, so far as a belief in their approximate accuracy is 
concerned, are to a considerable degree satisfactory to us. 

It would have been much more agreeable to us if we had found our- 
selves able to make a report which would encourage a confident hope 
of abundant success as the result of such experimental borings within 
this district as were contemplated by the act of Congress authorizing 
the work upon which we have been engaged. The conclusions we pre- 
sent are, however, those to which we have felt ourselves compelled to 
arrive, and in support of those conclusions we also present the data 
upon which we have based them, that others may judge of their accuracy 
or fallacv as well as we. 



4 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAIN'S. 

We desire in this connection to say that while a large part of the 
facts and conclusions which we present in our report will apply with 
equal force to the whole arid region of the plains, we have purposely 
confined our report to the region we have designated. Success or fail- 
ure in artesian borings depends primarily on geological structure, and 
that structure may be more favorable in places outside of our district 
than we have found it to be within it. A correct knowledge of that 
structure being attainable only through a careful investigation by skill- 
ful geologists, we venture to recommend that all future work of this 
kind be assigned to the United States Geological Survey. 
Respectfully submitted. 

C. A. WHITE, 
SAMUEL AIGHKY, 

Commissioners. 
Washington, 1>. C, February 7, L882. 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 
I N T K O I) 1' C T OK V R E AI A K K S . 

While this report embraces a coDsideration of only a small part of the 
great arid area of the West, the district to which it refers, namely, that 
portion of the State of Colorado which lies east of the Rocky Mount- 
ains, is nevertheless of considerable size, embracing' as it does about 
40,000 square miles. 

The principal features of this large district, as well as those of the 
large areas that adjoin and are continuous with it both upon the north 
and south,. are very simple, the whole region referred to being, in fact, 
one of the well-known great plains of the earth, the general uniformity 
of which is seldom broken by any considerable local elevation of the sur- 
face. It is, however, bounded on the west by the abruptly rising prin- 
cipal chain of the Rocky .Mountains, some of the peaks of which reach 
an altitude of over 14,000 feet above the level of the sea. By reference 
to the lists of elevations along the lines of railway that traverse it from 
east to west, the surface of our district is found to have a general slope 
to the eastward from near the base of the Rocky Mountains of from 10 
to 12 feet to the mile. Roughly calculated, the average elevation of 
the district above the level of the sea, exclusive of the locally elevated 
areas near the mountains, which we have designated as Tertiary high- 
lands, is about 4,450 feet; the lowest point within its borders, which is 
where the Arkansas River crosses its eastern boundary, is 3,120 feet. 

In consequence of this easterly slope of the surface, the two principal 
rivers of the district, the Arkansas and South Platte, traverse it in an 
easterly direction, the distance from the base of the mountains to the 
eastern border of the district being fully 150 miles. After assuming 
this almost easterly course upon the plains, both these rivers not only 
receive almost no accession to their volume of water during the summer 
season, but their volume in summer time is often actually lessened 
by evaporation and absorption as they flow to the eastward upon the 
plains. Their constant supply is derived from their numerous branches, 
which head among the Rocky Mountains. These facts, together with 
others which will be brought out upon the following pages, show the 
great aridity of the district during at least a portion of each year. 



6 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

During the prosecution of our investigations we found it convenient 
to divide the general subject under three principal heads, namely: (1) 
the general topography and surface features of the district; (2) the 
geological structure of the district and of the adjacent mountains; and 
(3) the primary sources of water supply in and around the district. 
In the presentation of our report we shall follow the same divisions of 
the subject, and add (4) a brief history of the attempts that have been 
made by various parties in and near the district to procure water by 
means of artesian borings, and (5) a statement of our conclusions and 
recommendations. 

We shall also add, as appendices to the main subject of* our report, (6) 
a statement of the results of incidental observations concerning availa 
ble sources of water supply within the district other than that which 
may be hoped for by means of artesian wells; and (7) the special report 
which we have already presented upon the artesian boring that has 
been made near Fort Lyon, Colo., under the auspices of the department. 

TOPOGRAPHY AND SURFACE FEATURES. 

This district being a portion of the great plains, its topography, as 
before indicated, is very simple, the surface of the plain within the 
limits of the district having, as has already been stated, a general slope 
to the eastward of from 10 to 12 feet to the mile; but this, while it is 
quite sufficient for complete and rapid surface drainage by means of 
its rivers and tbeir tributaries, is too slight to be detected by the eye. 
The great chain of the Kocky Mountain system, made up of a compact 
mass of crowded peaks and gorges, rises almost as abruptly as a wall 
along the whole western border of the district. Within that portion of 
the great continental mountain chain, towering above the others, are 
some of the most noted peaks to be found within the limits of the United 
States; and no part of that great chain is more compact and character- 
istic than is that which borders the district upon which we here report. 
At the base of and closely against the eastern mountain front is a com. 
paratively narrow fringe of foot-hills, the larger ones of which would 
elsewhere be regarded as mountains, but in the presence of the mighty 
members of the chain they hold a subordinate place. While even the 
higher peaks of the great chain do not reach an elevation that in full 
exposure to the influence of the sun would be above the true line of per- 
ennial snowfall in that latitude, there is a multitude of limited perennial 
snow-fields in the less exposed places among those mountains, some of 
which have an elevation of 3,000 or 4,000 feet less than that of the higher 
peaks; and dwellers in the adjacent plains are never out of sight of the 
white glitter of these interesting features of mountain scenery. From 
thgse numerous small snow-fields and the comparatively abundant rains 
that fall upon the mountains and not upon the plains, in summer time, 
multitudes of rivulets arise. These rivulets gather and unite in the 
gorges and find their way out upon the plains in the form of rapid streams, 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 7 

all of which are quickly gathered together to form, respectively, the two 
principal rivers of the district, the Arkansas and South Platte. 

In consequence of retreating bends to the westward in the course of 
the eastern front of the mountain range towards the southwestern por- 
tion of our district, a part of the mountain streams which unite to form 
the Arkansas River do not before their confluence enter the proper 
limits of the district; bnt those which unite to form the South Platte 
all effect their continence upon the plains, not only within the district, 
bnt within a distance eastward from the foot-hills of the mountains not 
exceeding twenty miles. All these mountain-born streams are constant 
and copious in their flow, even all through the summer, but some of the 
smaller ones which make their exit from the mountains and foot-hills 
with a copious flow of water have their volume greatly diminished, and 
in some cases wholly obliterated, upon the plaius in summer-time by the 
rapid evaporation which occurs there in consequence of the dryness of 
the earth and atmosphere. Also, the numerous streams which are rep- 
resented upon the maps in common use as tributaries of the South 
Platte and Arkansas, respectively, and which have both their source and 
debouchment upon the plains, are all either dry during the summer- 
time or they are reduced to a few isolated pools. During this portion 
of the year one may traverse these channels from mouth to source, and 
find a part of them as dry throughout their entire length as are the 
plains on either side of them; or, approaching the mountains in some of 
these dry channels, he may gradually come upon constantly flowing 
streams of pure and good water which is all lost long before the mouth 
of the stream is readied. During a portion of the spring and autumn, 
however, all the streams of the plains are broad and strong torrents of 
muddy water. 

Traversing the great plains, of which our district forms a part, the 
general aspect of the surface is found to be similar to that of the great 
prairie regions of the States of the Upper Mississippi Valley. It is 
utterly treeless every where, except that a fewclumpsof cotton woods and 
willows are found at the river margins, and rarely some scattered cedars 
occur in rocky ravines that sometimes cnt the valley sides. Grasses of 
the most nutritious character for grazing, and various other herbaceous 
plants prevail, but vegetation does not cover the surface nearly so 
thickly as it does upon the prairies. The frequent and often abundant 
prevalence of cactus and other plants which are characteristic of arid 
regions also gives a desert-like aspect to the whole landscape in summer- 
time, when the fresh vegetation of spring has withered away. The soil 
of the plains is evidently much the same in character as that of the 
prairies, and tests that have been made of its capach^y show that it only 
needs the seasonable application of water to make it quite as fertile. 

In the vicinity of the mountains within this district we find two areas 
which have a distinct and considerable elevation above the great general 
level of the plains, and which, while they are near the foot-hills of the 



8 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

mountains, are quite distinct from them. One of these elevated areas 
lies north of the South Platte and between that river and Lodge Pole 
Creek. The other, which is much the larger area, lies to the southward 
of Denver, and between that city and Colorado Springs. The limits 
and characteristics of these Tertiary deposits will be explained under 
the head of geology. As we shall have occasion to make further ref- 
erences to these limited elevated areas as separate from the great gen- 
eral surface of the plains, we shall in this report designate them as the 
Tertiary Highlands ; but it is proper to remark that this name is pro- 
posed not for general use, but only for conventional use in this report. 

The borders of the more northerly of these Tertiary highlands are 
generally so well denned that they are readily recognizable from a dis- 
tance on the plains, because they often assume the form of more or less 
abrupt bluffs, from 100 to 200 feet high, and they are sometimes made 
still more conspicuous in the monotonous landscape by occasional clumps 
of cedars or scattered trees of that kind which grow upon their crests 
or slopes. The more conspicuous of these bluffs have received local 
names, such, for example, as the a Chalk Bluff's," just upon the northern 
boundary of our district and some 25 miles southeastward from the city 
of Cheyenne. 

The more southerly of the Tertiary highland areas is the larger and 
much the more elevated, the higher portions reaching an elevation of 
600 or 800 feet above the general level of the adjacent plain. But its 
boundaries are not so clearly denned by precipitous bluffs as those of 
the northern area ; its general surface is more uneven, being divided by 
erosion into numerous hills and ravines ; and considerable portions of 
the area are occupied by somewhat scattered small bodies of timber, 
mostly pines and cedars. In some sense these hills partake of the char- 
acter of foot-hills of the adjacent mountains, but they are separate from 
and lie just east of the foot-hills proper. 

These Tertiary highlands are specially noticed in this report, not so 
much because they are conspicuous topographical features of that 
strongly featured region as because in the letter of instructions which 
we received when entering upon the work the wish was expressed that 
we should learn as far as practicable the probabilities of obtaining water 
by means of borings of comparatively little depth in the superficial and 
Tertiary deposits. The character of the Tertiary deposits will be further 
elucidated under the head of geology of these districts, and the bearing 
of their structure upon the special subject of this report will be con- 
sidered under the head of conclusions. 

AvSide from these Tertiary highlands, there is nothing in our large dis- 
trict to break the monotonous undulation of the general level of the plain, 
except the shallow and usually broad valleys of the water-courses, all 
of which have a good degree of uniformity of character throughout their 
entire length; but the sides of the smaller valleys blend with the undu- 
lations of the plains at their upper portions. Like the higher surface of 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 9 

tbe plains, the valleys are all destitute of trees, with the unimportant 
exceptions that have before been noticed. The valleys of the South 
Platte and Arkansas are similar to each other in general characteristics 
across the whole breadth of the district. Their sides slope so gently 
down from the uplands or higher general level of the plain that it is 
almost everywhere difficult to say where the valley sjde ends and the 
higher land of the plains begins. There is usually a considerable space 
at the bottom of the valley upon one or both sides of the river which to 
the eye appears nearly level, but which, as a rule, has a gentle slope 
towards the river, sufficient for its complete drainage. These valley 
bottom lands are generally of such a character and breadth that they 
would make admirable farms if they were only supplied with water at 
seasonable times. Upon the lowermost of these bottom lands the moist- 
ure derived from their proximity to the river is sufficient for the abun- 
dant growth of valuable grasses, which are now annually cut for hay. 

GEOLOGY OF THE DISTRICT. 

The geology of that portion of the great plains which constitutes the 
district upon which this report is based, like its topographical features, 
is very simple. The strata which underlie it have one broad but very 
gentle general dip to the eastward, away from the mountain chain, 
which dip is practically coincident with the general slope of the sur- 
face, which has already been described. Furthermore, this dip and 
the general slope of the surface to the eastward both coincide with the 
general slope of the two principal rivers of the district, the South 
Platte and the Arkansas, the course of both of which upon the plains 
is in the same direction. The general features of the geology of this 
district and that of the adjacent mountain region are well shown in 
the atlas of Colorado which has been published by the United States 
Geological Survey of the Territories. A copy of a part of one of the 
sheets of that atlas accompanies this report, containing such additions 
by us as we have thought necessary for the elucidation of the subject 
in hand. Certain of the minor geological details which cannot be 
clearly shown upon the map, especially the secondary undulating dips 
of the strata of the plains, which we regard as having an important 
bearing upon the question of artesian water supply, were worked out 
by us during the past season. 

The great axial mass of the Rocky Mountain chain which lies adja- 
cent to our district consists of unstratified arclnean rocks, a large part 
of which are granitic in composition. The plains in the region which 
embraces the district upon which we report are underlaid by different 
formations of stratified rocks, which formations in the vicinity of the 
mountains are known to range in the geological age from the Triassic 
to the Tertiary, inclusive. At certain places among the mountains and 
foot-hills which adjoin our district upon the west a few isolated por- 
tions of Silurian and Carboniferous formations have been discovered, but 



10 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

the development of tbese paleozoic rocks is so slight that for oar pres- 
ent purposes we do not think it necessary to make anything more than 
incidental reference to them. All the other formations here referred to, 
except the Tertiary, are abruptly flexed up against the arclncan axial 
nucleus of the mountains, and enter largely into the structure of the 
narrow range of foot-hills of those mountains. Many of these foot-hills, 
being composed of the upturned harder and softer stata of the forma- 
tion just mentioned, have been so shaped by erosion that they form more 
or less sharply angular longitudinal ridges, which are commonly desig- 
nated as hog-backs. It is among the foot-hills, where the stratified rocks 
are up turned, that the latter are to be seen and studied to best advan- 
tage, because out upon the plains the higher formations of the series 
cover the next underlying ones successively, and, except at occasional 
exposures, even the uppermost ones are covered, as with a mantle, by 
the superficial deposit or debris of the plains. This debris is reallj- 
that w T hich has been derived from the easily disintegrated underlying 
rocks, and which, mixed with gravelly fragments that have been derived 
from the mountains, constitutes the soil and subsoil of the plains. 

The Tertiary strata of this district were no doubt once flexed up 
against the mountains like those of the formations which underlie them, 
but perhaps to a considerably less extent than those; but they have been 
removed by erosion from those rocks which once underlaid them and 
now enter into the structure of the foot-hills. Those Tertiary rocks no 
doubt also once extended far out upon the plains, covering large areas 
there; but with the exception of the two limited areas that we have 
already described as the Tertiary highlands, which are composed of 
those strata, they have all been removed by erosion from the plains 
portion of our district also. 

The following is a tabular statement of the whole series of forma- 
tions of stratified rocks which pertain to the district here reported on, 
except the small Silurian and Carboniferous deposits which have before 
been mentioned. Opposite the names of each group is placed the ap- 
proximate thickness in feet which they respectively attain in the western 
part of the district, the measurements having been taken where the 
strata are upturned against the mountains: 

Feet. 

Tertiary 200 to 1, 400 

Laramie 200 to 1, 000 

( Fox Hills Groups 1, 200 to 1, 500 ^ 

Cretaceous^ Colorado Groups 800 to 1,000 >2,250 to 2,900 

l Dakota Groups 250 to 400J 

Jurassic 400 to 800 

Triassic 1, 500 to 2, 000 

Total t 4, 550 to 8, 100 

• 

Tertiary deposits.— -The deposits which we have designated as of Ter- 
tiary age are not now, as before stated, flexed up against the mountains, 
but their western borders are very near to the foot-hills. The more 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 11 

northerly of the two areas within the district lies just upon its northern 
boundary, and extends out upon the plains some 75 or 80 miles to the 
eastward from the foot-hills within the district, and still further east- 
ward in the district which lies just north of it. The more southerly of 
the two Tertiary areas is some 50 miles across from east to west, and 
about 10 miles across from north to south. The strata of both these 
Tertiary deposits are all approximately level, or they dip slightly to the 
eastward, like those upon which they rest. 

While the strata of both the northern and southern Tertiary high- 
lands here referred to undoubtedly belong to the Tertiary period, and 
are as undoubtedly of fresh- water origin, it is understood by us that 
those of the two areas, respectively, are not referable to oue and the 
same epoch of the Tertiary period. But they both rest directly upon 
the Laramie Group, and the lithological character of the one being 
closely like that of the other, they are practically one for our present 
purpose, which is only to show the bearing of the geological structure 
of the district upon the question of water supply by artesian boriugs 
within its limits. The areas occupied by those Tertiary deposits are 
represented by the spaces on tke accompanying geological map which 
are colored plain yellow and marked by the letter T. 

These Tertiary deposits of both areas are largely made up of friable 
sandstones, sandy shales, and conglomerates, with very few clayey 
layers, and also some strata of more or less compact sandstone. They 
contain comparatively few layers that are impervious to water or that 
would materially obstruct its percolation through the whole formation. 

Laramie Group. — This group of strata constitutes the coal-bearing 
formation of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains. It has, in our 
district, a maximum thickness of about 1,000 feet : but over a large part 
of the district its strata are reduced by erosion to 100 to 200 feet in 
thickness, and upon the borders of the river valleys it has been thinned 
out entirely by erosion, which has also here and there laid bare the 
underlying Cretaceous strata. 

This formation is shown by the character of its fossil remains to have 
been of brackish- water origin; and we regard it as holding a transi- 
tional position between the strata of Cretaceous and Tertiary periods 
proper, in its biological characteristics partaking of both. It is quite 
uniform over the whole district in its lithological characteristics, being 
made up largely of clayey strata, which are more or less sandy, and 
occasional sandstones and sandy shales, all of which are usually more 
or less calcareous. Therefore, as a whole, it is evidently a formation 
through which water could work its way slowly if at all by percolation, 
although a few of its layers are so sandy and slightly compacted that 
water might apparently percolate through them with some facility if it 
were not obstructed by the impervious layers above and beneath them. 

The strata of the Laramie Group occupy a greater portion of the area 
of the district immediately beneath the superficial deposit than those 



12 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

of all the other formations together; in consequence of which, and of 
its lithological characteristics as already described, it has a very im- 
portant bearing upon the questions to be discussed in this report. The 
area occupied by the Laramie Group is shown by the spaces upon the 
accompanying geological map which are colored by green, circular dots 
on a yellow ground and marked by the letter L. Although the flexed 
condition of the strata of this group, in the immediate vicinity of the 
mountains, shows that they were all originally upturned to an equal 
extent with the others which underlie them, they are now not often 
found to enter into the structure of the foot-hills proper. This is 
without doubt due to the fact that the Laramie strata, being as a rule 
comparatively soft and friable, have been removed by erosion wherever 
they have been prominently exposed by reason of the upward flexure, 
while the harder strata of the formations beneath them remain in the 
form of the prominent hog-backs among the foot-hills that have already 
been described. 

Cretaceous formations. — The strata of marine origin which are refer- 
able to the Cretaceous period are in Colorado divisible into only three 
distinct groups,* namelj , the Fox Hills or Upper, the Colorado or Mid- 
dle, and the Dakota or Lower. All three of these groups are flexed up 
together against the mountains, and all three of them enter to some ex- 
tent into the structure of the foot-hills. Upon the plains the Cretaceous 
strata, like all the others, being in nearly a horizontal position, do not 
produce any prominent features in the landscape. 

Next to the Laramie Group, the strata of these three Cretaceous 
groups occupy a greater portion of the surface of the district than any 
other. Upon the plains they are exposed in the valleys and vicinity 
of the rivers and their larger tributaries ; and the areas which they oc- 
cupy are represented by the spaces on the accompanying geological 
map, which are colored green and marked by the letters Cr. 

The lithological characteristics of these three groups, as well as those 
of the others yet to be noticed, have an important bearing upon the 
question of artesian water supply. 

The Fox Hills Group is composed in large part of bluish clayey strata, 
somewhat arenaceous for the upper portiou, and sandstones and sandy 
shales for the lower portion j but among the latter are many soft and 
some clayey layers. 

The Colorado Group is composed very largely of argillaceous shales, 
and toward the base these shales are somewhat firm and calcareous, and 
often fissile. This description applies more particularly to the northern 
portion of the district, but in the southern portion this group is much 
more calcareous than in the northern, and near its upper portion there 
are many layers of firm, regularly-bedded, gray limestone. As a whole, 
the Colorado Group is one that will evidently not allow the free perco- 



* Sec Annual Report U. S. Geol. Sur. Terr, for 1876, p. 29. 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 13 

latioo of water through it. Indeed, it is evident that this group would 
present great obstruction to the percolation of water. 

The Dakota Group is.largely made up of coarse, rough layers of more 
or less firm sandstone, and although a considerable portion of it is soft, 
and sometimes clayey, it is perhaps more pervious to water than any of 
the other formations which underlie the district. These saifdstones are 
therefore regarded as presumably water-bearing strata. It is one of 
the most uniform in its lithological characteristics of all the Cretaceous 
groups of North America. 

Jurassic. — This is one of the thinner of the formations which underlie 
our district, averaging only 500 feet at its western border, where the 
formation is upturned among the foot-hills. It is composed mainly of 
argillaceous material, in the form of clayey and somewhat sandy shales, 
with occasional beds of impure limestone and sometimes small deposits 
of gypsum. As a whole, therefore, this formation is also one of the most 
impervious to water. Although it is evident that these Jurassic strata 
underlie at least all the western portion of our district, none of them are- 
exposed at the surface within its limits, but the whole formation is up- 
turned among the foot hills, where, being composed of easily eroded 
material, it usually occupies the longitudinal valleys which are bordered 
on either hand by the hogbacks of the Dakota and Triassic groups re- 
spectively. 

The limited area within which the strata of this group are exposed 
at the surface is too small to be represented alone, and it is therefore 
included in the very narrow, irregular, interrupted purple stripe upon 
the accompanying geological map, marked by the letters J. T., which 
also includes the Triassic strata. 

Triassic. — Although — as is shown by the narrow space upon the map 
which has just been mentioned — this formation occupies a very narrow 
area of the surface, it is the thickest, and in some respects one of the most 
important of the formations which we have occasion to discuss. It has 
an average thickness of about 1,700 feet. It is composed mainly of 
sandstones, which are often coarse, and which sometimes alternate with 
layers of conglomerate. The nearly uniform red color that prevails 
throughout the formation almost everywhere has caused the common 
name of u Red Beds" to be applied to it. The sandstone layers are 
usually harder than those of the other formations, but still they are not 
very dense, and those alternate with softer layers, some of which are 
argillaceous. The greater part of the strata of this formation being 
harder than those of the other formations that have been described, they 
often form large and conspicuous hills among the foot-hills, many of 
which are in the form of huge hogbacks. 

Like the Jurassic, none of the strata of the Triassic formation are ex- 
posed upon the plains, and therefore not within the limits of our dis- 
trict, and the foregoing description has been drawn wholly from the 
strata as they are seen among the foot-hills. That the formation really 



14 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

does extend far out from the mountains under the plains is, in our 
opinion, not to be questioned, and that the strata have the same gen- 
eral characteristics there may be legitimately inferred from the fad 
that those characteristics are very uniform wherever the formation is 
found at the surface on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. These 
inferences a»e also confirmed by the result of the boring that has been 
made near Fort Lyon. 

This formation, composed as it is of sandy rock, would, if its strata 
were loosely compacted and regularly bedded, no doubt allow the ready 
percolation of water; but many of the strata are often found to be very 
dense, and many are also so argillaceous as to render it unlikely that 
much water could percolate through them. But the formation is a 
very thick one, and many of the strata would doubtless be permeable 
wherever a water supply may exist in contact with them. Therefore 
we shall regard it as like the Dakota sandstone — a presumably water- 
bearing formation. 

The formations that we have here described constitute the whole 
series of stratified rocks that are known to underlie the district. The 
small local deposits of Silurian and Carboniferous strata, which are in 
a few places found among the foot hills and the adjacent mountains, 
suggest that the same formations exist, to some extent at least, 
beneath the surface of our district, and consequently beneath the 
Triassic rocks. Possibly the last-named strata may there, at least in 
part, rest directly upon the arclnean rocks, as they are seen to do in most 
cases at the foot-hills; but in any case the arcluean rocks doubtless lie at 
a depth beneath the plains that will be beyond the reach of any borings 
that it will be found expedient to make there. 

The only method by which the actual presence beneath the surface of 
the plains of any series of rocks older or lower than the Cretaceous 
can be demonstrated is by artesian borings. We may, however, to 
some extent, draw inferences as to the probable presence or absence of 
certain formations, respectively, beneath given portions of the district. 
For example, it is probable that beneath its eastern portion the Silurian 
and Carboniferous rocks are present and more fully developed there 
than they are at the foot of the mountains, because those rocks, as well 
as those of Devonian age, are well developed in the valleys of the Mis- 
sissippi and Lower Missouri Rivers. Again, the Jurassic and Triassic 
strata, especially the latter, are, as has already been shown, well de- 
veloped along the western border of the district; but neither of these 
formations are known to exist in the Mississippi and Lower Missouri 
Valleys, nor at any point between them and the eastern base of the Rocky 
Mountains. Therefore the inference is plainly correct that those forma- 
tions have thinned out somewhere beneath the plains, and it is possible 
that they may have done so before they reached the eastern border of 
the district. It is also probable, or even practically certain, that the 
Cretaceous strata, except the Dakota Group, also materially dimin- 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 15 

ish in thickness as they extend to 'the eastward. The same is evi- 
dently true of the Laramie Group, which doubtless thins out entirely 
in Western Kansas and Nebraska. 

If, therefore, we should make a boring' upon the plains within a 
short distance eastward from the liocky Mountains we should expect, 
from our knowledge of the character and order of the strata as we find 
them flexed up against the mountains, that the drill would pass through 
the same formations and in the same order. The boring that has been 
made at Fort Lyon, Oolo., under the auspices of the Agricultural De- 
partment, has really proved that this condition of things exists beneath 
the plains, 100 miles eastward from the mountains. 

It is unfortunate, however, speaking from a geologist's stand-point, 
that the boring there was not carried down until the Triassic rocks were 
passed, instead of stopping, as it did, in those strata. This act, however, 
was plainly justified from an economic standpoint, as we have shown 
in our special report upon the subject. 

If we were to make a boring* upon the plains near the eastern bor- 
der of our district, which is some 150 miles eastward from the base of 
the mountains, we might, from our knowledge of the broad, geographical 
extent of those formations, reasonably expect to find all the formations 
present there, from the Laramie to the Dakota Group, inclusive; and 
perhaps also the Jurassic and Triassic. It maybe, however, that the 
two latter formations have entirely thinned out before reaching so far 
eastward ; and it is quite certain that all the others, except the Dakota 
Group, which is known to exist in full force in Kansas and Nebraska, 
would be found to have become much thinner than they are at the base 
of the mountains. The question of the thinning or thickening to the 
eastward or westward of the formations that underlie the plains is a 
matter of practical importance, as well as of geological interest, as will 
be seen by our remarks under the head of conclusions. In this connec- 
tion it should be stated that we have good reasons for believing that as 
a whole the stratified rocks which underlie the plains are much thinner 
at the eastern than at the western border of our district. 

The un stratified arch se an rocks of the Rocky Mountain region, and 
which it is assumed deeply underlie our whole district, appear at the 
surface within those areas which on the accompanying geological map 
are colored with a pink tint, and are marked with the letter M. They 
are such as are often designated as metainorphic rocks, and are similar 
in character to those which underlie the lowest stratified rocks elsewhere, 
so far as that character relates to the question of artesian water supply 
That is, not being stratified, we cannot calculate upon the course that 
water will take in passing through them, nor, indeed, can we think it 
probable that water will find its way by percolation through them 
beneath the surface to any considerable horizontal distance from the place 
where it falls from the clouds. It is true that springs are more or less 
frequently met with among that portion of the Rocky Mountains which 



16 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

lies adjacent to our district, issuing from the arclnean rocks, and water 
is also frequently so abundant in the deeper mines of those mountains 
as to greatly impede the working- of them. 

This water is without doubt, in every case, derived from the rains and 
snows that fall upon the mountains in the immediate vicinity of the 
springs and mines referred to, and it has made its way to these outlets 
through the numerous irregular fissures which prevail in such rocks. 
These fissures, being irregular in character and direction and the rocky 
masses through which they pass being without stratification, the courses 
which those fissures may take cannot be calculated. Their irregular 
character, and the well-known character of the kind of rock through 
which they pass, renders it certain that however numerous these 
fissures may be they do not form continuous channels for the conduc- 
tion of water to any considerable horizontal distance beneath the sur- 
face. Whilje it is probable that water may percolate through the great 
mass of the unstratified rocks of the Rocky Mountains, and that some 
water may find its way thus and by means of fissures beneath the 
stratified rocks upon the plains in the immediate vicinity of the mount- 
ains, it is not to be expected that even small quantities of water should 
be thus conveyed beneath the plains to any considerable distance from 
its mountain sources. Practically, then, we think we are justified in 
regarding the unstratified arch a3 an rocks as forming an impervious base 
to the stratified series of rocks within which, if anywhere, we may hope 
to obtain a water supply upon the plains by means of artesian borings. 

We have already referred to the gentle general dip to the eastward 
from the base of the mountains of all the formations of stratified rocks 
which underlie our district. Although neither this easterly general dip 
nor the modifications of it which exist in various parts of the district 
are discernible to the eye, our acquaintance with the lithological and 
paleontological characteristics of the strata which are exposed at dif- 
ferent points on the plains throughout the district, taken in connection 
with several series of elevations above the level of the sea that have been 
referred to has enabled us to reach conclusions that would not have 
been otherwise attainable. A portion of those series of elevations we 
have obtained from (Taunett's published lists, and others have been 
furnished to us by the officers of the Union Pacific and Burlington and 
Missouri River Railroad Companies respectively. 

The modification of the general eastwardly dip of the strata, of the 
district which has been referred to consists of gentle undulations of the 
strata, which are so very broad and slight that they coiilo* not be detected, 
except by means of the railroad levelingsthat have been referred to and 
the surface slopes of the Arkansas and South Platte rivers. We have 
used the surface slopes of these rivers as base-levels by which to note 
the rise and dip of certain recognizable and persistent strata, above and 
below those levels, in the banks of the Rivers respectively. By means 
of these methods of observations we have ascertained that the Arkansas 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 17 

and South Platte Rivers each runs upon a very gentle anticlinal axis of 
the underlying strata, which axis extends across nearly or quite the 
whole breadth of the district. Consequently, there is a very gentle and 
very broad synclinal axis between the two rivers. The distance be- 
tween the two rivers at the eastern x>ortion of our district is about 180 
miles, and the extent to which the strata are flexed downward between 
them there is estimated at about 400 feet. 

The gentle undulations along north and south lines which the strata 
of the plains are found to possess, and which lie at right angles with 
the broad east and west anticlinals and synclinals that have been 
mentioned, have been explained in our special report upon the boring 
which has been made near Fort Lyon, Colo., under the auspices of the 
Department of Agriculture, and which is added to this report in the 
form of an appendix. No such undulations have been observed along 
the valley of the South Platte, and although they may exist elsewhere 
in the district than in the valley of the Arkansas River their presence 
has not been detected. Those undulations, as shown in the report re- 
ferred to, have an important bearing upon the question of artesian water 
supply in the region of that valley. It will also be seen in the sequel 
that the broad synclinal between the two rivers of the plain, which has 
been explained, although so slight in the amount of its depression, is a 
very important geological feature in relation to the subject of this report. 

The superficial deposits of the plains. — Before closing these remarks 
upon the geology of the district, further mention should be made of the 
superficial deposits or debris of the plains. This material, as already 
stated, is derived mainly from the immediately underlying stratified rocks, 
by their disintegration; but scattered among it, even as far out from 
the mountains as the eastern border of our district, are small fragments 
of granitic rock, which by its character is plainly seen to have been de- 
rived from the archaean rocks of the mountains. It was probably trans- 
ported thence by the action of ice during the glacial epoch. This fine 
angular gravel sometimes, but seldom, is found in perceptible local accu- 
mulations upon the higher surfaces of the plains, but it is more percepti- 
ble in the valleys. Indeed, the larger valley bottoms are apparently all 
underlaid by material which consists largely of this loose drift-gravel. 
"This condition of the ground makes the procuring of ordinary wells of 
good water at moderate depth in the larger valley bottoms of the dis- 
trict an easy matter in almost all cases. 

PRIMARY SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY. 

In such districts as lie below the level of great lakes or other bodies 
of water that may exist in their vicinity, it is possible that an artesian 
water supply may be derived from such a source. In the region within 
which our district is located, however, no such source of supply can be 
considered, because no such bodies of water exist there nor in the 
regions round about, and no rivers traverse the district other than those 
5156 2 



18 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 



which have their rise in the adjacent mountains. Therefore, the only 
primary source of water supply to be considered in this report is that of 
rainfall. 

For the purpose of showing the amount of water that falls upon the 
surface in and around our district, the following tables- of rainfall are 
given, which have been compiled from the published reports of the 
United States Signal Office, the publications of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, and Powell's Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United 
States. So few stations of observation have been located upon the 
more arid portions of the great plains that these tables do not really 
show the full extent of the contrast between those portions and the 
more favored region immediately to the eastward as regards the amount 
of rainfall, but these data are the most instructive of any that we have 
found available for our present purposes. 



Table No. 1. — Annual and monthly rainfall at certain points in Colorado, Wyoming, Ne- 
braska, and Kansas, for the fire i/ears ending June 30, 1879. 



Localities. 



Pike's Peak . 

Denver 3. 'J.') 

Cheyenne 1.87 

* North Platte. 

* Dodge City . . 

Omaha 

Leavenworth.. 







1874. 






"a 

»-5 


■r. 


M 

z 

0Q 


s 

o 
O 


"November. 




6.00 


3.72 


2.31 


1.80 


0.36 


0.22 


3. 'J.') 


0.68 


1.34 


0.01 


0.18 


0.17 


< 1.87 


0.44 


0.93 


1.86 


0.04 


0.16 


2. 48 


2.42 


0.85 


1.46 


0.57 


0. 34 


2.28 


2. 92 


0.94 


0.22 


0. 23 


0.05 


0.54 


2.08 


7.18 


1.45 


1. 05 


0. 54 


3.23 


1.72 


5.50 


1.49 


3.46 


1.35 







18 


75. 






P 


a 


e 

A 






1 

hi 


0.76 
3.38 
0.42 
0. 24 
0.12 
0.26 
0.23 


0. 50 
0.60 
0.06 
0. 26 
0.10 
0.51 

,,, 


1.03 
0. 39 
0.23 
0.40 
0.04 
1.24 
2.50 


0.92 
2.24 
0.50 
6.21 
0.72 
3.06 
1 67 


2.08 
1.94 
1.20 
1.69 

2. 26 
4. 25 

3. 53 


1.70 
0.43 
0. 29 
1.62 
0.73 
10.95 
3.85 



21.40 
15. 24 
8.00 
21.24 
11.61 
33. 11 



Pike's Peak. 

Denver I 

Cheyenne 

North Platte ... 

Dod^eCity 

Omaha 

Leavenworth... 







1875. 










1876. 






8.13 


3.52 


3.20 


0.38 


1. 54 


0.98 


0. 85 


0.61 


2.03 


1.04 


4.73 


2.88 


4.32 


1.97 


2.89 


0.22 


1.28 


0.59 


0.21 


0.11 


1.80 


1.22 


8.57 


1.10 


4.47 


2.12 


1.34 


0.60 


0.84 


0.03 


0.02 


0.06 


0.54 


0.23 


2.50 


0.10 


1 2.12 


0.66 


1.40 


0.14 


0. 52 


0.09 


0.09 


0.13 


0.49 


0.51 


2. 97 


0.49 


, 3.28 


2.06 


1. 32 


0.06 


0.00 


0.09 


0.00 


0.05 


3.59 


0.16 


1.15 


1.53? 


10.01 


7.77 


2.55 


1.16 


0.13 


1.00 


0.22 


0.40 


3.18 


2.65 


2. 07 


3.47 


8. 82 


3.73 


1.97 


0.72 


0.39 


2.60 


,« 


0.20 


5.78 


7. 65 


6.78 


5.7! 



29 89 
24.28 
12.85 
9.61 
14. 29 
34. <il 
45.77 



Pike's Peak . . 

Denver 

Cheyenne 

North Platte . 
DodueCity... 
Omaha 
Leavenworth . 







1876. 










1877. 


2.20 


4.63 


1.60 


1.43 


1.06 


0.79 


1.49 


1.29 


1. 53 


2. v»l 


1.16 


2.03 


0.60 


0.12 


1.50 


1.70 


1.90 


40 


1.40 


2.77 


0.79 


0.26 


0.00 


0. 00 


0.32 


0.21 


0.20 


0.14 


0.98 


1.11 


1.16 


2.46 


1.47 


1.07 


0.49 


0.51 


1.38 


0.37 


0.19 ; 0.37 1 


2.26 


1.03 


2.13 


1.00 


1.35 


0. 15 


0.18 


0.56 


0.25 | 3.38 J 


7.30 


6.27 


4.93 


0.69 


1.17 


0.16 


0.53 


0.44 


1.26 6.24 


4.01 


3.40 


3.56 


2.79 


2.87 


0.31 


0.73 


0.50 


4.39 7.14 



2.82 
2.30 
2.24 
3.22 
4.96 
8.62 
8.67 



3.36 
1.93 
1.27 
2.99 
3.92 

y. 36 

10.00 



25. 13 
17.81 
7.51 
15.68 
21.17 
45. 97 
48.37 



Pike's Peak . 

Denver 

Cheyenne . . . 
North Platte 
Dodge City. . 

Omaha 

Leavenworth 







18 


77. 










1878. 




2.70 


2.10 


2.69 


3.74 


0.54 


0.41 


0.29 


1.45 


2.95 


3.77 


4.32 


0.33 


1. 30 


0.38 


2.15 


0.73 


0.79 


0.10 


0.48 


1.82 


0.05 


2.90 : 


0.43 


0.83 


2.02 


1.99 


0.17 


0.33 


0.08 


0.13 


1.16 


0.19 


4.46 


2.04 


5.03 


4.49 


1.23 


30 


3.86 


0.00 


0.18 


1.40 


1.15 


3.24 ' 


1.79 


4.09 


0.50 


3.34 


0.56 


4 36 


0.21 


1.13 


1.01 


1.06 


4.63 


0.96 


3.13 


2.05 


5.86 


1.36 


2.14 


1.13 


0.14 


3.09 


3.97 


5.7 7 


5.34 


2.85 


1.95 


4.87 


2.44 


3.18 


2.34 


2.94 


2.35 


2.86 


5.28 



3.49 

2.78 
1.71 
5.85 
2.19 
8.48 
5.27 



28.45 
13.81 
13. 50 
28.77 
24.87 
38.08 
41.67 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 19 

Table No. 1. — Annual and monthly rainfall at certain points in Colorado, cjc. — Continued. 







• 


1878. 










1879. 








Localities. 


l"3 


50 


! 

ft 

© 

02 


1 
© 

6 


s 

1 

! 


1 

P 




a 

CO 

1-5 


to 


© 

u 
rz 


< 


£ 

3 


CS 

a 
ho 


"c5 
o 
H 


Pike's Peak : 


5.46 
1.38 
1.43 
3.58 
1.61 
7.66 
3.08 


6.12 
2.25 
2.50 
1.52 
4.48 
2.48 
3.31 


2.42 
1.23 
0.75 
0.91 
0.76 
3.22 
2.64 


0.24 
0.80 
0.04 
0.13 
0.09 
0.55 
1.16 


7.81 
0.67 
0.00 
0.46 
0.60 
0.29 
1.76 


4.55 
1.05 
0.19 
0.20 
0.19 
0.27 
2.16 


3.71 
0.40 
0.32 
2.33 
0.87 
0.07 
1.16 


2.66 
0.39 
0.20 
0.43 
0.08 
0.93 
0.54 


2.20 
1.00 
0.44 
0.11 

0.17 
2.17 
0.32 


12.15 
2.62 
1.66 
1.92 
0.40 
1.77 
0.42 


3.26 
3.36 
1.30 
2.25 
0.90 
5.53 
3.04 


0.68 
0.32 
0.07 
3.31 
4.40 
4.09 
9.90 


51.26 
15.47 




8.90 


North Platte 

Dodge City 


17.15 
14.55 
29.03 


Leavenworth 


29.49 



* The rainfall for July and August. 1874, was not recorded, and those entries in this tahle have heen. 
supplied by taking the mean of the rainfall for those two months in the other four years. 

Mean annual rainfall for the five years ending June 30, 1879. 



Denver, Colo 

Pike's Peak, Colo.. 
Port Lyon, Colo — 
Cheyenne, Wyo — 
North Platte," Nehr 
Dodge City, Kans. . 

Omaha, Nehr 

Leavenworth, Kans 



Longitude. 


Rainfall. 




Inches. 


105 00 


15. 322 


105 03 


31.548 


102 50 


12. 560 


104 49 


10.154 


100 46 


18.490 


100 00 


17.298 


95 56 


36. 160 


94 52 


39. 018 



Table No. 2. — Totals of annual rainfall at Sidney Barracks, Fort McPherson, and Fort 

Kearney, Nebraska. 



Sidney Barracks. 
Longitude 102^ 58'. 

Inches. 

1873 12. 38 

1874 14.77 



Mean 13. 58 

Fort McPherson. 

. Longitude lOO 30'. 

Inches. 

1868 29. 01 

1869 10.08 

1870 18.62 

1871 20.04 

1872 16.07 

1873 18.86 

1874 17.16 



Mean 18. 55 



Fort Kearney. 
Longitude 98 c 57'. 

Inches 

1849 45.76 

1850 25. 07 

1851 26.44 

1852 20. 65 

1853 29.90 

1854 26.65 

1855 25.05 

1856 29.10 

1857 28.62- 

1858.. 26.14 

1859 16.10 

1860 16.85 

1861 19.34 

1862 22.10 



Mean * 25. 55 



* It will be seen that the data given for Fort Kearney, which are copied from 
the Smithsonian reports, end with the year 1852. It is claimed by some persons con- 
versant with the facts, that there has been a material increase iu the annual rainfall 
since that time, but we have not the data at hand which will indicate whether such 
an increase, if it really has occurred, is likely to be permanent. 



V 



20 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

The order of arrangement of tlie names of the stations of observation 
that are given in both the foregoing tables is from west to east ; that is, 
the more westerly ones are given first, the object being to show the in- 
creasing amount of rainfall as one goes eastward from the said plains, 
until the region is reached where it is abundant for the purposes of 
agriculture. 

The plains are arid up to the immediate base of the mountains, and 
the great mountain chain is surrounded upon all sides by an arid region. 
Upon the mountains themselves, however, as is well known, the rainfall 
is much greater than it is on the plains adjacent, or in the broad inter- 
vales which separate the subordinate chains that constitute the great 
Rocky Mountain system. This fact is clearly seen by comparing the 
rainfall upon Pike's Peak, as given in the foregoing table, with that of 
Denver and Cheyenne, both of which places are on the plains near to 
the mountains. 

It would have been more satisfactory if we had found it practicable 
to obtain accurate data upon the whole of that portion of our district 
which lies to the eastward of a line between Denver and Chej'enne, but 
no stations of observation have been established there, so far as we are 
aware, except that of Fort Lyon. Sidney Bsfrracks, however, lies just 
north of the northeastern portion of our district, and being located upon 
a continuation of the plains which include the district, its data will 
serve our purpose well in connection with the others. The data of that 
station, together with those of Denver, Cheyenne, and Fort Lyon, will, 
we think, give an average that will very nearly represent the mean 
annual rainfall for our district as a svhole. 

The mean annual rainfall for those four stations we find to be 12.905 
inches; and in view of the fact that other records give the rainfall at 
Denver as a little greater than it is given in the foregoing table, we 
shall assume 13 inches to be the mean annual rainfall for our district. 

A meridian 100 miles east of the eastern boundary of our district is 
generally regarded as at least approximately representing the western 
boundaiy of the great agricultural region which lies directly eastward 
from our district, beyond which to the westward the successful growth 
of farm crops is not practicable without irrigation. From that meridian 
the aridity increases until our district is reached, where the maximum 
occurs in that latitude upon the plains. 

No station has been located exactly upon that meridian, but the 
annual average rainfall there is understood to be about 23 inches.* 

The mean annual rainfall, as shown by the foregoing tables, is, at Fort 
Kearney, 50 miles eastward of the meridian referred to, 25.55 inches; and 
at Omaha, 215 miles eastward from it, 36.1G inches. We are aware that 



* We do riot wishto be understood as in any way discussing the question of agricultural 
capabilities of tlie region here referred to. This question is one around which impor- 
tant interests gather, and one which requires more extensive and accurate data for its 
intelligent discussion than, in our opinion, yet exist. 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 21 

farm crops maybe, and are, successfully raised without irrigation in re- 
gions where the aunual raiufall is somewhat less than that which is here 
stated as the minimum, but where the raius fall at seasonable times. 
We, however, are only attempting to state the facts as they exist in rela- 
tion to the great plains of the West 5 and our main object is to show 
clearly the increasing aridity of the climate as one goes westward from 
the region of the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains. 

Compare, now, these data from that portion of the great agricultural 
region which borders upon the arid plains with the average for our dis- 
trict, as already stated, and it will be seen that we have there an annual 
rainfall equal to but little more than half the minimum amount that in 
the region to the eastward is regarded as necessary to raise a crop. It 
is plain, therefore, that far the greater part of the water which flows in 
the rivers of our district, falls upon the adjacent mountains, and reaches 
those rivers of the plains by their mountain tributaries. 

But this mountain rainfall, although it is copious, as compared with 
that of the plains, is not very great. If we take the mean annual rain- 
fall as given in the preceding table for Pike's Peak as the average for 
all the mountain district within which that peak is located, and which 
is drained upon our district, and average it with the assumed mean an- 
nual rainfall there, we find a mean annual rainfall for our district, to- 
gether with the adjacent mouutains, of 21.774 inches. This is less than 
the minimum amount which, according to the foregoing estimate, is 
necessary for the successful growth of a farm crop, if it were uniformly 
distributed over mountain and plain. This low average is probably 
higher than actually occurs, because the rainfall upon the higher peaks 
of the mountains, like Pike's Peak, is greater than upon the lower 
mountains and the foot-hills, which are included in the above estimate. 

It will be seen from these data how small an amount of water falls 
upon our district, and its dryness in summer will be still more apparent 
when it is remembered that direct rainfall, away from the larger rivers, 
is its only natural source of water supply. The bearing of these facts 
upon the question of successful artesian wells for the district will be 
discussed on following pages. 

ARTESIAN BORINGS HITHERTO MADE WITHIN AND NEAR THE DIS- 
TRICT. 

A few attempts have been made within and near our district to secure 
supplies of water by means of artesian borings. All except one of these 
have been made by private parties or corporations, the exception being 
the boring that has been made at Fort Lyon, Colo., under the auspices 
of the Agricultural Department. We have already made a special report 
upon this boring, which accompanies this report in the form of an ap- 
pendix. 

The most notable of the borings which have been made by private 
parties are two, both of which are located at Pueblo, Colo. From 



22 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

data which were communicated to us by the proprietor of the well first 
bored we learn that the bore was 5J inches in diameter, and that the 
work was done with a plunge drill. As such a drill does not bring up an 
unbroken core, the record of the strata through which that drill passes 
is imperfect ; but the boring is known to have been begun in the strata 
of the Colorado Group of the Cretaceous series; doubtless passed 
through the Dakota and Jurassic groups and ended in the Triassic. 
We were informed that at the depth of 1,166 feet, Avhich was at the 
bottom of a deep series of clayey shales, a flow of water was obtained 
that, on July 6 of the year just passed, gave a discharge of water 
at the top amounting to 4,000 barrels in 24 hours, but that it began 
gradually to diminish. At the time of our visit, early in the following 
September, the flow had nearly ceased. The second boring at Pueblo 
has been made since our visit there, but it is reported on by Mr. Beach 
in Appendix III. 

We are not fully satisfied whether the diminished flow from the first 
boring was caused by an obstruction of the bore by caving in of the 
soft rock through which it passed, or by the exhaustion of a local accu- 
mulation of water which the boring had reached, the constant source of 
supply of which is not equal to the great drain upon it caused by the 
boring. We had suspected the latter, because we found that the dips 
of the strata there are local, as they frequently are in the neighborhood 
of the mountains, and that they do not there conform to the general 
dip to the eastward, which characterizes the strata of our district at a 
distance from the mountains. The success of the second boring seems 
to encourage the hope that in the immediate neighborhood of Pueblo 
the success of artesian borings will be permanent. We, however, regard 
these wells as really outside of our district proper, because we were 
instructed to take into consideration only such sites for wells as are 
sufficiently far from the mountains to avoid such local displacements of 
strata as evidently occur at and near Pueblo and other places equally 
near to the mountains. 

Two borings have been made near Canon City, west of Pueblo, and 
still nearer to the mountains. Both of these were failures, and if they 
were not, they would not require special consideration here, because 
they are quite outside of the limits of the region we were expected to 
report upon. 

Two borings have also been made at Denver, both of which, as we 
were informed, were wholly unsuccessful. We were unable to obtain 
any detailed information concerning one of them; but we found that the 
other had been begun in the strata of the Laramie Group, and, judging 
from its reported depth, it seems to have ended in the Fox Hills Group 
of the Cretaceous series. It is stated in the Annual Report of the 
United States Geological Survey of the Territories for 1873, p. 109, to 
have reached a depth of nearly 800 feet. 

At Cheyenne, within eight or ten miles of the northern boundary of 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 23 

our district, a boring was made a few years ago which is reported to have 
reached a depth of 900 feet. It was practically unsuccessful and the 
enterprise was abandoned. For an account of other borings that have 
been made in and near the district which we here report upon, see Mr. 
Beach's report, Appendix III. 

West of the principal Eocky Mountain range, along the line of the 
Union Pacific Bail way, several borings have been made, most of them 
without success ; but these have no practical bearing upon the question 
in relation to our district. 

Although successful common wells have been digged upon the plains 
within our district, especially in the valleys of the streams which trav- 
erse it, no successful artesian borings appear to have yet been made 
upon that portion of the great plains which is properly included in the 
arid region. But in that portion of the great agricultural region which 
lies immediately to the eastward of, and which is continuous with, the 
arid plains, successful artesian wells are not uncommon. 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

After a careful examination of all the facts that we have been able to 
gather, it is our opinion that the prospect of obtaining a satisfactory 
supply of water by means of artesian borings in our district are not very 
encouraging; but there are portions of it, which we shall designate, 
within which we think success may be more reasonably hoped for than 
in others. Our reasons for this opinion will appear in the course of the 
following remarks. 

Wherever water exists beneath the surface of the earth in a condition 
to be made available by means of artesian borings, it must necessarily 
have reached that position by percolation through or between the in- 
clined layers of pervious, alternating with impervious, stratified rocks, 
to a greater or less horizontal distance, and from a surface which lies at 
a greater or less height above the surface upon which the boring is be- 
gun. In cases where the strata beneath the surface are all so pervious 
to water that it may, when it falls, percolate perpendicularly through 
tliem by gravitation, they cannot of course retain the water in such a 
manner that it will rise by hydrostatic pressure in borings that may be 
made for that purpose. 

It has been shown that the strata of our district have a general dip 
to the eastward of about 10 feet to the mile, and that the dip is prac- 
tically coincident with the general slope of the surface and of the prin- 
cipal rivers in thai direction. 

Therefore, there are no upturned edges of strata upon the plains 
within the limits of the district that might facilitate the percolation 
beneath the surface of such water as may fall upon it. 

It has also been shown that a large proportion of the whole series of 
strata that underlie the district are practically impervious to water; and 
that the strata of the Laramie Group, which immediately underlie the 



24 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

superficial deposit of tiie uplands of the greater part of the district, ar4 
especially so. Therefore, even if the rainfall were abundant there, 
instead of being, as it is, exceedingly slight, it is doubtful whether much 
of it would penetrate those strata. We believe that in fact very little 
of that slight rainfall ever finds its way to any considerable depth into 
the strata beneath. That which falls there in the cooler months of the 
year necessarily saturates the superficial deposits to a greater or less 
extent, and in a few favorable places this water is never wholly evap- 
orated, as will be shown in Appendix No. 1. In summer the dryness 
of the mobile atmosphere upon the plains is so great that the scanty 
showers which at long intervals fall there are, by evaporation, dispersed 
almost as rapidly as the clouds from which they fall. Furthermore, 
the dryness of the atmosphere and of the surface of the plains is so 
great during the four warmer months that a constant and rapid draft 
is evidently made upon whatever of moisture may have accumulated 
in favorable places within the superficial deposits during the cooler 
months. 

If the general dip of the strata beneath our district and of the region 
to the eastward of it were to the westward instead of the opposite di- 
rection, we might hope that water sufficient to supply artesian wells 
would be brought by percolation to the strata beneath the district from 
the great eastern region of abundant rainfall. In view of the very 
slight rainfall upon the district, the extreme dryness of the summer 
months, and the general impermeability of the strata which immediately 
underlie the superficial deposits, it is plain that we must look alone to 
the mountain district immediately upon its western side for the source 
of supply of such water as may exist among the strata beneath its sur- 
face. 

Since the water which may exist among the strata beneath our district 
must be derived from the rainfall upon the adjacent mountain district 
it is plain, or will be in the sequel, that we need consider only that por- 
tion of the latter which is drained of its rainfull upon the surface of the 
former. The northern and southern limits of that portion of the moun- 
tain region are respectively, like those of our district, the northern and 
southern boundaries of Colorado. Its eastern limit is the western bound- 
ary of the district, and the western limit is the great continental divide, 
or water-shed, which is represented upon the accompanying map by a 
strong irregular dotted line. 

By referring to the geological map it will be seen that all except a 
very small portion of that mountain district is occupied by the archean 
and igneous unstratified rocks, which are there represented by pink and 
red colors, respectively. It has already been shown that the water 
which may fall upon the surface occupied by such rocks cannot be ex- 
pected to make its way to any considerable distance horizontally be- 
neath the surface from the place where it falls. Consequently we can- 
not suppose that a material portion of the water that falls upon far the 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 25 

larger part of tbe mountain district in question will find its way through 
those unstratified rocks upon which it must fall beneath the surface of 
the adjacent plains, where it will be available by means of artesian bor- 
ings. Therefore we are reduced in this connection to a consideration of 
the narrow area along the eastern base of the mountains, where the 
strata which underlie our district are flexed up against them. 

This area extends along the whole western boundary of our district,, 
but it is very irregular and very narrow, not averaging more than a 
mile and a half in breadth. As a matter of ordinary observation, but 
not as a result of scientific determination, we may state that the amount 
of rainfall upon this narrow area is much less than it is upon the higher 
mountains iu its neighborhood j but, on the other hand, all the water 
that is drained oft* from the mountain district to the adjacent plains 
must cross this narrow area of upturned strata. The water of these 
streams is constantly present there, and it is not intermitted like the 
rainfall. Therefore the amount of water that may soak down through 
those strata from both rainfall and mountain streams is evidently con- 
siderable. Be it much or little, it is plain, we think, that the strata be- 
neath our district can derive a sufficient amount of water from no other 
source that will be available by means of artesian borings, although 
the upper ones may derive a considerable amount oi* moisture from the 
rivers which cross the plains. 

There are various places in this narrow area where the upturned 
strata have been thrown into faults, or such displacements as interrupt 
the continuity of the respective strata there. These displacements 
may have the effect in some instances of obstructing the flow or perco- 
lation of water from the upturned strata into those strata of the plains 
which are more nearly horizontal. We think also that in some cases 
such displacements may have the effect of facilitating such percolation 
by retaining the water longer or more fully against the western edge of 
the more nearly horizontal strata. We therefore think it not necessary 
to give those displacements material consideration in this connection. 

Assuming, then, that a considerable, but not a very large, amount of 
water does find its way among the strata beneath our district, from 
the sources we have mentioned, we come next to consider the conditions 
which may be expected to affect the depth at which such accumulations 
of water may be reached by boring upon "the plains. 

In the letter of instructions which we received we were requested to 
give especial attention to the Tertiary and superficial deposits. If 
water were obtainable in these deposits by means of artesian borings, 
the necessary depth would be comparatively small; but, judging from 
all the facts that we have been able to obtain, we seriously doubt 
whether success can be reasonably hoped for there. That some suc- 
cessful common wells may be digged in the debris, or superficial de- 
posit of the plains, and many of them in the valleys of at least the two* 



26 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

principal rivers of this district, is evident; and that subject will be 
found discussed in Appendix I. 

The Tertiary deposits, as has alread}' been shown under the head of 
geology of the district, are not flexed up against the mountains. They 
have no doubt the same slight dip to the eastward that the other stra- 
tified rocks of the plains have, but upon all, or nearly all sides, the surface 
of the plains is topographically lower than the base of those deposits. 
They are within the region where the annual rainfall ranges from only 
10 to 15 inches. All the strata are of a character that indicates them to 
be very pervious to water; and yet there are very few springs at the base 
of the formation where it rests upon the impervious strata of the Laramie 
Group that endure through the summer. It is therefore plaiu that these 
deposits are very dry, and being wholly pervious and the dip slight, we 
could not under the circumstances, as we understand them, expect to 
obtain successful artesian borings in those strata, even if the rainfall 
of the region were much greater than it really is. It is possible that 
some local depressions or dips occur among these strata that have not 
been detected by an examination of the surface which would favor an 
artesian flow of water, but we have obtained no evidence of such a con- 
dition of the strata. 

As regards the probable depth beneath the surface of the plains at 
which such accumulations of water as may exist there may be reached 
by boring, we must refer again to the character of the strata as ex- 
plained under the head of geology of the district. It was there shown 
that, of all the formations which underlie our district, the Dakota and 
Triassic Groups are evidently more permeable by water than any of the 
others; and that all the others are of such a character that we 
cannot reasonably expect that any considerable amount of water would 
collect in them, but that they would hold securely until pierced by a drill 
such water as may accumulate under them. Therefore, if any artesian 
borings that may hereafter be made upon the plains within the limits 
of our district are successful, the water will probably be found in either 
one or the other of the two formations that are here indicated as presum- 
ably water-bearing. It is, of course, possible that some water may be 
thus obtained from the sandstone portion of the Fox Hills Group, and per- 
haps also from that of the Laramie Group, but, in our opinion, it is not 
probable. 

Assuming that water will be obtained in either one or the other of the 
two formations named, if at all, we next consider the probable depth at 
which those formations may be reached by borings from the surface of 
the plains. Of course any estimates of this kind must be more or less 
indefinite. Such estimates may, however, serve as a basis of calcula- 
tion in considering the expediency of making further experimental bor- 
ings. If such borings are begun in that portion of the district which, 
upon the accompanying geological map, is represented by green circu- 
lar dots on a yellow ground, or, in other words, upon that portion which 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 27 

is occupied by the Laramie Group, the top of the Dakota sandstone 
will probably be reached at a depth of from 1,200 to 2,000 feet, accord- 
ing as the locatiou is iu the eastern or western portion of the district. 
Under similar circumstances the top of the Triassic sandstone will prob- 
ably be reached at a depth of from 600 to 800 feet deeper ; but it must 
be remembered that these estimates are made without actual data, and 
only in accordance with the general judgment that we have formed 
from our observations in that region. 

We have already given our reasons for believing that all, or nearly all, 
the formations that underlie our district become considerably thinner to 
the eastward from the foot-hills, where they are seen with their edges 
upturned. This being the case, the two presumably water-bearing for- 
mations respectively may be reached by borings of considerably less 
depth in the eastern part of the district than in the western. Fortu- 
nately, also, other conditions of the strata are, in our opinion, more 
favorable for success in the eastern than in the western portion. 

If borings were begun on the Cretaceous strata, the area occupied by 
which is represented on the accompanying geological map by green 
color, the two presumably water-bearing formations would doubtless be 
reached at less depth than if begun on the Laramie strata. But it will 
be seen that those Cretaceous strata come to the surface on the plains 
only in and near the valleys of the two principal rivers. It has been 
shown that each of these two rivers runs upon a gentle anticlinal axis, 
the strata dipping away from the rivers respectively, both northward 
and southward. Therefore we cannot recommend that any borings be 
made either in, or very near to, either of these valleys. 

We have shown that there is a very broad, gentle synclinal axis be- 
tween the anticlinals of the Arkansas and South Platte Valleys in the 
region of the upper branches of the Republican Rivers, the strata dip- 
ping southward from the Platte Valley, and northward from the Arkan- 
sas ; and all the strata dipping also to the eastward. These dips are 
all favorable to the accumulation of water in the strata beneath the 
surface of that region, and it is there that we would recommend any 
future borings to be made. We are not able to fix upon any par- 
ticular spots there which we would recommend above others as sites 
for the borings, nor do we think it practicable for any one to do so. 

Ultimate decision upon these points may, we think, be safely made a 
matter of convenience. The locality in which we regard the existing 
conditions as more favorable to success than they are in any other part 
of the district, may be designated in the following general terms: The 
neighborhood of the axis of the broad synclinal between the Arkansas 
and South Platte rivers, not far from where it crosses the eastern boun- 
dary of the district (that is the State boundary-line), near the parallel 
of 40°, and we think it will matter little where wells may be located 
within a few miles on either side of this assumed axial line. Entertain- 
ing this view, we suggest approximately the parallel of 40° 30' as the 



28 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

northern boundary; that of 39° 30' as the southern boundary, and the 
meridian of 103° 15' as the western boundary of the region within which 
we would recommend the boring of the first of the experimental wells 
that may hereafter be ordered. 

Summary. — The following is offered as a chief summary of the facts 
and conclusions that we have embodied in the foregoing. 

(1.) The district which we here report upon comprises all that portion of 
the State of Colorado which lies east of the foot-hills of the Eocky Mount- 
ains, or east of the meridian of 104° 35'. 

(2.) The great region within which this district lies is a very dry one, 
in consequence of which and of the irnperviousness of the uppermost 
strata, none of the water which falls upon the surface of the district 
is likely to reach the strata beneath in sufficient quantity to supply ar- 
tesian borings. 

(3.) The principal dip of the strata of the district is such that no water 
is likely to accumulate in and beneath them except such as falls upon 
the upturned edges at the foot-hills, or a part of that which crosses those 
edges in the form of mountain streams. 

(4.) The secondary dips of the strata are such that artesian borings 
are more likely to be successful in the eastern portion of the district 
between the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers than elsewhere. 

(5.) The characters of the superficial and Tertiary deposits are such 
as to offer very little encouragement for making artesian borings in 
them ; and therefore borings of slight depth are not, in our opinion, likely 
to be successful anywhere within the proper limits of this district. 

(C.) The known characters of the other strata which underlie the dis- 
trict are such that only two of the formations are in our opinion likely 
to prove to be water-bearing. These are the Dakota sandstone of the 
Cretaceous series, and the Triassic sandstone, respectively. 

(7.) To reach the first of these presumably water-bearing formations 
within the limited region which we have designated, will probably re- 
quire a boring of from 1,200 to 2,000 feet in depth. To reach the second 
will probably require a boring of 600 to 800 feet deeper. For a record 
of the practical experience gained in California in relation to the irri- 
gation of land by means of artesian wells, see repoit of the State engi- 
neer of California for 1880, pp. 13-18, Appendix A. 

It is proper to add the following brief remarks concerning some mat- 
ters that we were not able to study in detail. In consequence of cer- 
tain local dips that are believed to occur in the strata of the south- 
western part of our district, it is possible that some artesian borings 
may be successful there; but we are not at present prepared to recom- 
mend that a test be made there. 

We also think it possible that sufficient water may escape from the 
Arkansas Eiver into the strata which underlie the southwestern part 
of the district, through the Dakota sandstone, which is exposed in the 
banks of that river for a few miles below the mouth of the Purgatoire; 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 29 

but we do not think it would rise to the surface there from that source 
if borings were made to reach it. From the same source it is probable 
also that the supply of water may be somewhat augmented beneath 
the limited region within which we have recommended that the first 
•of future borings shall be made. 

Finally, we desire to say that our report has been written for the 
district aloue which we have examined; and except as regards general 
meteorological facts, it should be understood to be applicable to that 
-district only. Any consideration of the subject of locating artesian 
wells in other districts of the plains, or elsewhere, should be based 
alone upon a scientific examination of such districts. 

We are deeply impressed with the importance of the subject that has 
been intrusted to us for investigation, and, while we have no expecta- 
tion of continuing the work, we would earnestly recommend that the 
greatest caution be exercised in the location and prosecution of future 
borings, lest a repetition of failure should permanently discourage all 
experiments of this kind on the part of the government. Above all, 
we recommend that no additional experiments be made in other districts 
without the guidance of the best scientific investigation that the gov- 
ernment can command. 



APPENDICES 



Appendix I. 

WATER SUPPLY FROM OTHER SOURCES THAN ARTESIAN WELLS. 

Wells upon the uplands. — Under the head of geology of the district, we have referred 
to the admixture of gravel or rock fragments that have been derived, probably, by 
glacial action from the arclnean rocks of the mountains, with the superficial deposits 
of the plains, which have been derived by erosion and disintegration of the immediately 
underlying friable rocks. 

The superficial deposits of the plains, sometimes mixed with the gravel referred 
to, is often quite deep ; and judging from certain excavations that have been made in 
it, the depth in some cases apparently reaches as much as 50 feet; but it is evident 
that the depth is usually very much less. Still, it is enough almost everywhere to 
cover all the underlying stratified rocks from view except at a few points upon the 
uplands, and a few more in the larger valley sides. 

Wherever this superficial deposit or debris of the plains rests npon a broadly hol- 
lowed surface of the underlying clayey layers of the Laramie group, especially if the 
debris should contain at least a moderate proportion of gravel, a considerable amount 
of water from the scanty supply which falls upon the plains would collect beneath 
the surface. Such local accumulations of water in the superficial deposits, resting 
upon impervious layers, would probably not be exhausted during the summer by the 
strong draft that would be made upon it then by the aridity of the atmosphere and 
the dryness of the surface. 

It is probable that comparatively few such accumulations of water as this exist 
upon the uplands, but one at least, a very important one, is known to exist near Kit 
Carson Station, on the Kansas Pacific Railway, where a large well has been dug in 
it, which is reported to be 50 feet deep, with 14 feet of water ; and our examination 
of the well satisfied us of the correctness of the statements referred to. The water 
is obtained by a pump worked by a steam-engine, and we were informed by persons 
connected with the railroad that this well supplies all the railroad trains and stations 
with Avater for a distance of 70 miles, without materially diminishing the depth of 
the water in the well.* 

Under the circumstances that have been mentioned, this is a very remarkable well, 
and it is hardly to be expected that many such will be obtained upon the plains. 
The question of supplies of water from this source is, however, one that is well 
worthy of attention ; but, judging from what we regard as the true nature of these 
accumulations of water in the superficial deposits of the uplands, discoveries of so 
good deposits of water as this will be few and accidental. 

Wells in the valleys. — The superficial deposits of the valleys of the district are much 
more largely mixed with sand and gravel than those of the uplands are, especially 
that which lies beneath the layer of soil and subsoil. Therefore, upon the lower or 
bottom lands in all the river valleys wells of water, usually of excellent quality and 
inexhaustible quantity, may be obtained at almost any desired point, the depth at 
which water may be found depending only upon the height of the surface above the 
level of the river, whence these valley wells are in all cases supplied. Also, in a large 
part of the valleys of the tributaries of the principal rivers, which are dry in summer- 
time, successful wells may here and there be obtained, although no water may then 
appear at the surface there. It is often the case in these smaller valleys that after 
the water has disappeared from the bed of the stream sufficient water to supply ordi- 
nary wells may be found by digging down to a level a little below the dry channel bed. 

In the large valleys especially common wells may be made to be very serviceable for 
other than household use. Upon the broad, gently sloping bottom lands which prevajl 
upon both sides of the Arkansas and South Platte -Rivers they may be doubtless used 

* This is a common well, and not the artesian boring which is reported upon by 
Mr. Beach in Appendix III. 
30 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 31 

to some extent for irrigation. It is doubtful whether they could ever be made profit- 
ably available for the irrigation of ordinary farm crops, but for garden and village 
uses they can without doubt be made very valuable. Any number of such wells may 
be obtained at almost any desired points along the valleys of the Arkansas and South 
Platte. These valleys are broad, and with cultivation and tree-planting would become 
very pleasant. They have generally upon both sides of the river sufficient space for 
good, broad farm sites, and the soil needs only the seasonable application of water to 
make it as fertile as any on the continent. 

Artificial ponds. — In consequence of the impervious character of the strata svhich 
underlie the upland surface deposits of a large part of the district, and generally also 
of those surface deposits themselves, it would be practicable to make many artificial 
ponds by throwing embankments across some of the numerous depressions which 
gather and lead the surface drainage waters into the tributaries of the streams. 

It is our opinion that such ponds, favorably situated, could be made to gather 
water during the cooler months of the year of sufficient depth and in sufficient quan- 
tity to water large herds of cattle, and that would not become exhausted by the 
great heat and dryness of summer. We think also that in case such embankments- 
were made sufficiently strong they would be very permanent, and that the ponds- 
would not be so liable to become filled with sediment as they would be if they were 
constructed in the course of such streams as are subject to strong floods. 

Such ponds would soon have a good growth of trees around their margins, and they 
would doubtless within a few years so saturate the ground around them that the ex- 
haustive draught upon the quantity of water by evaporation in summer-time would 
be much diminished.. It is probable also that irrigating water for garden crops at 
least might be supplied from the larger of such ponds, and the borders of some of 
them might thus become homesteads of the proprietors or keepers of large herds, or 
even hamlets for small communities of those who may find employment upon the 
plains. 

We purposely omit from this report the general subject of irrigation, which is so 
extensively and successfully practiced in Colorado, as not pertaining to our present- 
subject. It may be mentioned, however, that the practicability of forming artificial 
ponds upon the superficial deposits of this district has been demonstrated by their 
production, either by accident or design, near some of the irrigating canals that have 
been made there to convey water from the rivers to the lands. The water that has- 
thus eseaped in certain places to lower levels than the canals by seepage or over- 
flow has accumulated in the foim of permanent ponds, some of which are of consid- 
erable extent, and possess the general characters which we have indicated in suggest- 
ing the construction of ponds upon the uplands at a distance from the streams. 

Judging from the foregoing facts, there seems to be good grounds for the opinion 
that eveu if no water should ever be obtained by artesian borings in the district we 
have examined, sufficient water may be made available by means of artificial ponds- 
and common wells to insure the convenient availability of the whole upland region 
for grazing purposes, and of a goodly portion of the valleys for at least garden culti- 
vation. 



Appendix II. 

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ARTESIAN BORING NEAR FORT LYON, COLO. 

Hon. George B. Loring, 

Commissioner of Agriculture : 

Sir : In accordance with your verbal request, we herewith submit to you, in ad- 
vance of our final report of investigations for the year 1881, a brief report upon the 
experimental artesian well which is now being bored near Fort Lyon, Colo., under 
the auspices of the Agricultural Department. 

At the time of our visit there, September 1 of the present year, the boring had 
reached a depth of 658 feet, and the work was still in progress. The superintendent 
in charge of the work reported to us a constant flow of water at the surface at the 
rate of three gallons per hour, which came from a point in the boring 430 feet beneath 
the surface ; but no water was flowing from the bottom of the boring, nor from any 
other point than the one named. This flow of water is regarded as too small to be of 
any practical importance, and the boring is thus far an unsuccessful one.* 

*The work on this boring has since been stopped by order of the Commissioner of 
Agriculture. It had then reached a depth of 719 feet without encountering any 
other flow of water, and the small flow before mentioned had entirely ceased. 



32 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

After a somewhat careful investigation of the geology of that vicinity, we have 
readied the conclusion that even if the whole series of stratified rocks there should be 
pierced by the drill (which, in our opinion, would he within 1,000 feel beneath the 

bottom of the boring at the time of our visit), it is not probable that a plentiful sup- 
ply of water will be obtained there. In the following remarks we endeavor to ex- 
plain our reasons for arriving at this conclusion. 

In our final report* we shall discuss the dips of the strata within the region which 
embraces the locality of the well in question, together with their lithological charac- 
teristics, as those questions are found to bear upon the probabilities, or otherwise, of 
obtaining water by means of artesian borings. Anticipating briefly a portion of this 
discussion, wo may state that while pursuing our investigations in the valley of the 
Arkansas River, in which valley the boring in question is situated, we ascertained to 
our satisfaction that from a point a short distance east of the town of Pueblo to the 
eastern boundary of the State that river runs upon a gentle anticlinal axis; that is, 
while the surface of the region adjacent to the river valley slopes toward the river 
upon both sides of it, the strata which underlie the surface dip away from the river, 
both northward and southward. 

There is also a general eastwardly dip of the same strata, which we ascertained to 
coincide almost exactly with the slope of the stream ; that is, there are very gen- 
tle and broad undulations of those strata, which are ascertained to exist by means of 
certain readily recognizable persistent layers, of one of the formations which underlie 
the surface there. These layers are at some places seen to rise a little abovethe level 
of the stream, as they are exposed in its banks, and at other places to pass a little 
beneath it. 

Now, we find that the artesian boring near Fort Lyon lias been located upon one of 
those gentle elevations of the strata, which has brought to view in the banks of 
the river there the layers referred to. A short distance above Fort Lyon these layers 
are seen to pass beneath the level of the river, and they also pass beneath that level 
a few miles below that place. 

In accordance with these facts and determinations, it is plain that there is a slight 
dip of the strata in all directions away from the neighborhood in which the boring 
mar Fort Lyon is located, of which dips the whole series of stratified rocks, the 
deeper as well as those which are visible at the surface, which underlie that locality 
unquestionably partake. 

Applying the well-known theory of artesian wells to the condition of the strata that 
exists in the neighborhood of Fort Lyon, as we have explained, an unfavorable result 
maybe reasonably expected from tin' boring now being prosecuted there. If that 
region were humid instead of arid, and the earth there were saturated with water 
as it is in humid regions, it is believed that the unfavorable dips of the strata which 
have been referred to are so slight that a fair supply of water might possibly rise 
to the surface in the boring near Fort Lyon by means of the general favorable dip 
to the eastward which those strata are known to have in that region. But knowing 
such a condition of the strata to exist in a locality, we do not think any one would be 
justified in beginning an artesian boring there, even under the most favorable condi- 
tions of climate as to rainfall and moisture. 

We ascertained that the boring near Fort Lyon bad been begun upon the Colorado 
or middle group of the Cretaceous series and near its base, the valley being there 
excavated out of the upper portion of the group. The drill had passed through the 
remainder of this group ; then through the Dakota or lower group of the Cretaceous 
series; then through the Jurassic series and into the Triassic. 

In consequence of the destruction or disarrangement of a large portion of the core 
which had been brought out of the boring by means of the diamond drill before our 
arrival, we were not able to study fully the fine geological section of the strata which 
underlie the surface there, and which that core would have presented if it had been 
carefully preserved. By examination of the portions of the core that w r ere preserved, 
in connection with the statements that were made to us by the superintendent in 
charge of the work, we have assigned to each group of strata that was passed through 
by the drill the thickness in feet which is expressed by the following figures : 

Feet. 

Colorado Group, Cretaceous 100 

Dakota Group, Cretaceous 300 

•Jurassic 250 

Triassic 28 

Total : 678 

*Now published in the foregoing pages. This special report was submitted before 
tthe final one was written. 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 33- 

The drill had passed into the Triassic series of strata only about 28 feet, and it is- 
known that much more of that series yet remains to be pierced. The foregoing measure- 
ments indicate that the several groups of strata which have been passed through by 
the drill are considerably thinner there than they are where they are upturned against 
the base of the Rocky Mountains, about 100 miles to the westward. This fact indi- 
cates that all the groups of strata beneath that and adjacent portions of the great 
plains will be found to become thinner to the eastward from the mountains, and that, 
therefore, the whole series of stratified rocks which exist there may be pierced by a 
boring at a much less depth at a considerable distance out upon the plains than they 
would be near the mountains, where the aggregate thickoess of those strata is known 
to be very great. We infer from this also that the Triassic series of strata, in which 
the drill is now working at the boring near Fort Lyon, is there probably not more 
than 1,000 feet thick, and that it may be less; but we have yet no positive data upon 
this point. 

At the base of the mountains the Triassic strata generally rest directly upon the 
arclnean or unstratified rocks, and perhaps the two series hold the same relation to 
each other beneath the neighborhood of Fort Lyon; but it is not improbable that the 
Carboniferous and Silurian strata may intervene between them there. We think it 
is barely possible that water may rise to the surface in the boring in question when 
the base of the Triassic series of strata is reached by the drill, but for the reasons al- 
ready explained we should not expect it. We are clearly of the opinion that in any 
case it will be useless to continue that boring into the unstratified rocks or to any 
depth beneath the base of the Triassic series. 

Since you have expressed a wish that we should be explicit in the expression of our 
views' on this subject, we will say that we believe the selection of the 3ite of the ar- 
tesian boring near Fort Lyon to have been an unfortunate one. We may add that, 
believing the conditions of the strata which underlie the surface at that locality to 
be unfavorable to success in obtaining a satisfactory flow of water from the boring 
now in progress there, a permanent discontinuance of the work at anytime would be 
justifiable. As geologists, however, we would much prefer to have the work con- 
tinued and the core of the drill carefully preserved until the arclnean rocks are reached. 
We beg also to improve this and every opportunity to recommend the use of the core- 
drill in all future borings that may be made under your direction, because such bor- 
ings will give us a knowledge of the geological structure beneath the surface of the 
great plains that can be obtained in no other way. 

We have constantly declined any communication or correspondence with any and 
all persons interested in well-boring machinery of any kind, and we make the above 
recommendation wholly in the interest of geological science. 

Very respectfully submitted. 

C. A. WHITE, 
SAMUEL AUGHEY, 

Commissioners* 

Washington, D. C, October 20, 1881. 



Appendix III. 

REPORT OF HON. HORACE BEACH. 

Mr. Beach, having been added to the commission for the purpose of 
collecting' statistics in relation to the practical work of boring artesian 
wells in the region under investigation, makes tlie following report: 

Hon. George B. Loring, 

Conunissioner of Agriculture: 

Sir: I have the honor- to submit herewith the following summary of facts which 1 
have obtained, in accordance with instructions from your department, and subsequent 
special instructions from Dr. C. A. White, chief of the commission on artesian wells. 

In compliance with the special instructions embodied in my commission, I went to 
Fort Lyon, Colorado, to make an examination of an artesian boring near that place 7 
located and commenced by your predecessor in office. I made a thorough investiga- 
tion of the work done and of the prospect for obtaining water at that point, and re- 
ported promptly to the department. I found the well located about 6 miles from 
West Las Animas, and about 2 miles from Fort Lyon, in the valley of Arkansas 
River. The work was apparently being pushed forward as fast as the kind of drill 
used would permit. The depth of the bore at that time was u't'O feet. A small flow 
5156 3 



34 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

of good water was obtained at a depth of 450 feet, which I estimated at about one and 
a half gallons per hour, the hydrostatic pressure of which was found to be sufficient to 
raise the water 10 feet above the surface of the ground. The indications were thought 
favorable for obtaining a good flow from a boring of sufficient depth. 

Inasmuch as large expense had been incurred by the government in putting the ma- 
chinery in place, and the superintendent in charge of the work gaA r e assurance that 
he could bore 15 feet each day of twelve hours, taking into account also the fact that 
the work was experimental, I recommended to the department that the work should 
be prosecuted until a depth was reached of at least 1,500 feet, if water should not 
be obtained in sufficient quantity before reaching that depth. Had the work pro- 
gressed as Mr. Douglass expected, the depth of 1,500 feet would have been reached 
in sixty days. I have learned recently, however, that little progress in the work has 
been made since my visit there. 

I think the location selected for trying the experiment an undesirable one. Being 
within 2 miles of the Arkansas River, its utility would have been lessened had water 
been obtained by the fact that herds could easily procure water at the river. Yet a 
large tract of land might be irrigated from the well, could sufficient water be ob- 
tained. 

The water to supply the engine and drill was hauled a distance of 2 miles, on wag- 
ons, at an expense of $4 per day and $3.50 for teams. It would have been more eco- 
nomical to put down a small pipe-line to the river and force the water up to the 
engine with a pump. I am also of the opinion that the work could have been more 
economically performed by contract at so much per foot than by the plan adopted, as 
will be presently shown, besides relieving the department of annoying details in the 
prosecution of the work. 

The kind of drill used in this work is what is called the diamond drill, a tool poorly 
adapted to the purpose. On a following page I discuss the comparative economy and 
adaptability of the different kinds of tools used for boring wells. 

I am still of the opinion that flowing water may be obtained at this locality if the 
bore is carried deep enough. 

After examining the well at Fort Lyon, I reported in person, on the 24th of August, 
to Dr. C. A. White, at Pueblo, Colo., and received from him instructions as to subse- 
quent investigations, the results of which are embodied in the following pages. An 
important portion of this work was the procuring of data concerning the borings 
that have been made by private parties in and near the region which the commission 
was appointed to examine. In prosecuting these inquiries I found some difficulty in 
ascertaining the localities where borings had been attempted, inasmuch as I had no 
previous information upon the subject. It became necessary to get information of 
persons who happened to be in possession of the necessary facts, and in some instances 
I have been obliged to repeat my journeys because of information subsequently ob- 
tained. I have obtained knowledge concerning several borings that have been made 
in several parts of the district, embracing portions of Colorado, New Mexico, and 
Wyoming. In a part of these cases no reliable record of borings had been made, and 
in some cases if a record had been made it seems to have been subsequently lost. 
In the latter cases I was obliged to rely upon the statements of those who professed 
to have a recollection of the facts, but these statements are regarded as only approxi- 
mately correct. Usually, upon visiting the sites of the borings, but little could be 
found* to indicate the nature of the strata that had been pierced. 

THE BOKING AT SOUTH PUEBLO, COLO. 

At South Pueblo, in the valley of Arkansas River, and only a few feet above the 
level of the river, a well was bored in 1879 for petroleum by the Pioneer Oil Well 
Company. To Mr. Silas Clarke, superintendent of the work, I am indebted for the 
following statement concerning this boring: 

The work was performed with a 15 horse-power engine, walking-beam and churn 
drill, worked with a 1^-inch rope, similar to those used in the oil regions of Pennsyl- 
vania. This well was cased to the depth of 392 feet with a 6-inch casing. Below 
this the rock was sufficiently solid to sustain itself. 

At a depth of 1,180 feet a flow of water of a mineral character and 82° Fahr. was 
obtained, which discharged 160,000 gallons every 24 hours. The boring was contin- 
ued beyond this to a depth of 1,400 feet. The entire cost, including engine, drilling- 
tools, labor, coal, &c, was $7,222. Not including the engine and drilling-tools, but 
including all other expenses, the cost was $5,222, equal to $3.73 per foot. Including 
the engine, tools, coal, water, and labor, and all other expenses, the cost would be 
about $5.16 per foot. 

THE BORING AT DENVER, COLO. 

A boring was made in 1871, about H miles eastward from Denver, on an elevation 
called Capitol Hill. No record of this boring could be obtained, and a visit to the 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 35 

site did not afford much information. The following approximate statement, how- 
ever, was obtained from Mr. Byers, postmaster of Denver, who took much interest in 
the subject. At 670 feet from the surface water was struck, which flowed to the sur- 
face, but soon became obstructed, and the work was discontinued. The strata passed 
through in this boring were sandstone, shales, and joint-clay. The first water was 
reached at a depth of 290 feet, and the second at 440 feet from the surface. 

THE BORING AT SERVILLF.TA, N. MEX. 

The Denver and Rio Grande Railway Extension Company has made a boring at Ser- 
villeta. I visited this place, and found that the boring had been carried to a depth of 
650 feet. The first 20 feet were through clay ; next 195 feet of porous lava rock ; then 
35 feet of hard sandstone ; then 50 feet of coarse red sandstone ; then 350 feet of fine 
yellow and white sand, very soft and friable, so much so as to fall in and necessitate 
the insertion of an inner casing through the first, which was 6 inches in diameter, and 
inserted to the depth of 160 feet. In attempting to insert the inner casing it was tele- 
scoped and the work finally abandoned without obtaining water. 

The water to supply the engine and drill was brought from a distance on water cars. 
The cost of this boring was $5 per foot, the contractor furnishing all the machinery 
and tools and paying for the labor. The railroad company furnished coal and water. 
The drill used was the walking-beam cknrn drill, worked with a rope, like those used 
in the Pennsylvania oil regions. 

THE BORING AT COAL CREEK, COLORADO. 

In the year 1880 a well was bored at Coal Creek, Fremont County, Colorado, by the 
Grand Canon Coal Company, then prospecting for coal. From Mr. J. W. Rathburn, 
who drilled the well, I learned that it was bored to a depth of 1,278 feet. At 350 feet 
a small flow of water was obtained, amounting to about 3£ gallons per hour. This 
water rose 335 feet. Forty -five feet from the bottom a small amount of petroleum was 
obtained. The diameter of the bore was A\ inches, and the drilling was performed by 
a walking-beam and rope, and club bit with jars. 

BORINGS NEAR GREELEY, COLO. 

From Messrs. Emerson & West, bankers, Greeley, Colo., I learned that several bor» 
ings had been made in that vicinity by the Prospecting Coal Company of Greeley. 
According to this information, the depths reached only 48 feet, and of another, 100 feet 
Water was reached in both cases. 

About 8 miles from Greeley, in Lone Tree Valley, a hole was dug to the depth of 35 
feet in prospectiug for coal. At that depth a vein of water was struck which flowed 
in rapidly, filling the hole to within 18 feet of the surface. These borings were made 
for $1.20 per foot. The work was done by a churn drill and spring-pole. 

Mr. West also gave me the following data from memory (he having mislaid his 
notes of the work) of a boring he had made near Greeley : ''The bore was 3^ inches 
in diameter ; depth, 200 feet ; first soil, 22 feet of sandy loam, with a stratum of cal- 
careous matter, which I have analyzed, showing sand and calcareous matter in about 
equal proportions. The rest of the distance was through sand-rock, hard and soft, and 
shales. My recollection is that it was about 10 feet of soft sand-rock ; then 1 to 1£ feet 
of very hard sand-rock; then shale, sometimes decomposed; then soft sandstone and 
hard sandstone alternately all the way down, except that in one instance, instead of 
shale, there were 6 inches of coal. Water was struck at 75 feet, but only a small quan- 
tity, which rose only a little above the point where it was struck. I had very rough 
machinery, only a spring-pole to raise the drill, and the work was consequently ex- 
pensive, the cost being $3 per foot." 

THE SECOND BORING AT PUEBLO, COLO. 

Mr. J. W. Rathburn, from whom I obtained the data concerning the boring at Ser- 
villeta, has furnished me with the data of a second boring at Pueblo, which he has 
since made there for the South Pueblo steel works: "The boring is now down 1,200 
feet, and we have a flowing well of warm water, nearly pure. The drill passed 
through loose material 28 feet; slate to 685 feet ; 60 feetofVnite limerock; slate and 
shales to 1,070 feet ; a bed of chalky substance, probably 20 feet ; then slate and shale 
and brittle rock, with alternate veins of water, to about 1,200 feet. The cost will not 
exceed $5 per foot. The Steel Works Company furnished fuel and water ; the cost 
of water did not exceed $3 per day. The casing is 6 inches in diameter. The well is 



36 ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

cased 230 feet. Surface water was reached at 22 feet; second water ;ii 200 feet, but 
it amounted to scarcely one barrel per day of twenty-four hours. I used the same ma- 
chinery here that I used at Servilleta. The location of the well is on the mesa, about 
125 feet above the level of the Arkansas River." 

THE BORING NEAR CHEYENNE, WYO. 

At Fort D. A. Russell, about 3 miles from Cheyenue, Wyo., a boring was made 
some years ago. Lieutenant O'Brien is the only person I could find who could give 
me auy information concerning it. He informed me that he was at the fort when 
the boring was made, and that water was struck at about 40 feet from the surface in 
small quantities. The first casing was 8 inches in diameter, into which a smaller 
pipe was inserted. The depth reached was 800 feet, all the way through gravel and 
bowlders. No bed-rock was reached, nor any water obtained, except the surface water 
at 40 feet. The work was then abandoned. 

THE BORING AT KIT CARSON, COLO. 

Mr. W. W. Borst, superintendent of the western division of the Atchison, Topeka 
and Santa Fe Railroad, gave me the following data concerning the boring that was 
made some years ago at Kit Carson station, on the Kansas Pacific Railway: "The 
well at Kit Carson was begun in 1870 by the Kansas Pacific Railway Company, under 
the direction of General William J. Palmer, now president of the Denver and Rio 
Grande Railroad Company. 1 think a lime shale was struck at less than 100 feet from 
the surface, and that the drill never went through it. I do not recollect that auy 
surface water was reached. I think the boring was carried down about 1,300 feet. 
The boring was abandoned without obtaining water. I do not know the cost. " 

Although I visited the place, I was not able to obtain auy further information con- 
cerning this boring ; nor was I able to find the exact site of it, as all trace had been 
obliterated. 

STATISTICS OF METHODS AND COST OF BORING. 

After returning from the plains, with the approval of the department, I visited the 
oil regions of Pennsylvania to study the best methods and most approved tools for 
boring wells. I visited Franklin, Oil City, and Bradford, at all of which places I 
found extensive borings for petroleum. The large experience here in well-drilliug 
has probably developed the best methods of well-boriug, and produced tools the best 
adapted to rapid and perfect work. So far as I could learn, the only tools used here 
in boring wells are the club churn drills, worked with a steam-engine, usually 15 
horse-power, with walking-beam and rope. This drill bores by percussion, and con- 
sists of what is locally called an auger-stem, sinker-bar, jars, and bit, the whole 
together weighing from 1,400 to 2,000 pounds, 

The work performed with these tools in twelve hours is from 40 to 50 feet, and ex- 
ceptionally 75 feet. On a double shift in the twenty-four hours from 80 to 100 feet 
have been bored, the amount depending upon the nature of the rock. 

The usual method of contracting for drilling wells here is as follows : The party 
desiring the well bored furnishes an engine and builds a derrick. The party con- 
tracting to bore the well furnishes the tools, fuel, water, and labor, and drills the well 
for from 50 to 60 cents per foot. 

I herewith give a comparison of the work performed in a given time by the walking- 
beam churn drill, such as is used in the Pennsylvania oil regions, and the work per- 
formed by the diamond drill, such as was used at the government well near Fort 
Lyon, as learned from information obtained in the oil region, and from Mr. Douglass, 
the superintendent of the well at Fort Lyon : 

Feet. 

Twelve hours' performance of walking-beam churn drill 45 

Twelve hours' performance of diamond drill 15 

This gives an amount of work for the churn drill three times as great as that of the 
diamond drill. 

With a double shift the amount of work for the churn drill is nearly as great pro- 
portionally in excess of the diamond drill, each being as follows: 

Feet. 

Twenty-four hours' performance of walking-beam churn drill 90 

Twenty-four hours' performance of diamond drill 35 

In the foregoing comparison the maximum amount of work is given of which the 
diamond drill is capable, as stated to me by Mr. Douglass, while only the average 
work of the churn drill is given. This comparison is based upon the supposition that 



ARTESIAN WELLS UPON THE GREAT PLAINS. 37 

the rock to be bored is not of extraordinary hardness, and no estimate is made as to 
accidental breakage of machinery or tools in either case, or of delays from other 
causes. The churn drill is of great simplicity, is easily sharpened by a blacksmith, 
and only slight friction has to be overcome in working it. 

A constant stream of water must be forced down the inside of the boring-rods of 
the diamond drill, which are hollow, to force the cuttings up outside those rods. 
This requires a large quantity of water, much more than is used by the churn drill. 
Where the water has to be hauled from a distance this is a serious additional expense. 
The churn drill requires three men to work it. The diamond drill requires three men 
besides the diamond-setter. 

COST OF LABOR AND MACHINERY. 

The average price of soft coal at the points visited in Colorado and New Mexico I 
found to be $5 per ton at the railroad depots. The average cost of skilled labor is $4 
per day ; that of common labor, $2 per day. The cost of two-horse teams with driver, 
$4 per day. The price of work-horses is from $75 to $150, according to quality. The 
average cost of drilling wells in Colorado, New Mexico, and Nebraska I found to be 
$4.50 per foot. This does not refer to the government well at Fort Lyon. 

Fifteen-horse-power steam-engines, with boiler, adapted to well-drilling, could be 
purchased of the South Pueblo Machinery Company for $950. This was the only es- 
tablishment I found in the West where such engines are for sale. Mr. B. P. Fry, of Oil 
City, offered 15-horse-power engines and boilers suitable for well-drilling for $600, and 
drilling tools complete for $600 more. The latter includes "fishing-rods," and em- 
braces a complete "rig," except the rope. Six-inch casing costs in Pennsylvania 85 
cents per foot, 2-iuch pipe 22 cents per foot, and 1-inch pipe 8 cents. 

In some localities it might be more economical to lay pipe-lines and force water to 
the point of operations for the supply of the boiler and drill than to haul it with 
teams. The cost of a 1-inch pipe, which would probably be sufficiently large to lay 
one mile, would be $465.65. 

In view of the observations which I have made, I am confident that it will be much 
more economical for the department to bore any wells that may hereafter be ordered 
by contract. Competitive bids by competent parties would insure the lowest price 
obtainable, and it would relieve the department of vexatious labor and the govern- 
ment from much loss of money. 

Respectfullv submitted. 

HORACE BEACH, 

Commissioner. 

Prairie du Chiex, Wis., December 24, 1881. 



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